After Su Chen finished reviewing the base’s information, he focused his thoughts on his canvas backpack. A reddish-brown light rose from the bag, floated lightly before Liao Dahai, and hovered silently in the air.
"This is for your trouble. From now on, I’ll have to rely on you to watch over the camp," he said calmly. The afternoon’s harvest had been bountiful. From a single cyborg, he had obtained six Earth Element Runes—one Lv5 Earth Armor and five other Lv4 Runes.
Not to mention, he had also picked up a Lv4 Fertility Skill from a mushroom forest.
He no longer had any lower-level Earth Element Runes, and this Solidification Skill would pair with Liao Dahai’s Earth Wall Skill for a significant synergistic bonus. It would also be a huge benefit to the camp’s construction.
"This is too valuable." Liao Dahai shook his head, fully aware of its worth.
"Just take it. I’ll need you to put some effort into reinforcing this building," Su Chen said, knowing what he was doing. What was trivial to him was a huge reward for others, and this generous gift was also meant as payment for his hard work.
"This..."
Liao Dahai’s face flushed as if he’d just chugged a bottle of strong liquor. He finally stopped resisting and absorbed the Rune right then and there.
He had chosen to specialize in the Earth Element because, early on, he had discovered a method for trapping and luring Earth Element giant rats with rotten meat. However, once the method became widely known, the competition grew fierce.
Now, with the outbreak of the parasitic tide, the danger level had skyrocketed. He couldn’t spare the time to risk digging in tree hollows for more.
Of course, having received such a favor, Liao Dahai—a man who had navigated the working world for over twenty years—quickly understood the role he was to play on the team.
Guarding the base was secondary. It was clear that all infrastructure matters for the entire base camp now fell on his shoulders.
"Alright, I’ll get to work then. Let’s see how the reinforcement turns out."
He didn’t disturb them any further and prepared to head outside to begin. Before leaving, he even told his wife to boil a kettle of water and prepare some food.
An inflatable sofa designed for outdoor camping sat in the first-floor hall. As Su Chen sank into it, he felt a wave of plush comfort; he hadn’t had a proper chance to sit down all afternoon.
While resting, he immediately absorbed all the Light Element Essence and the Lv4 Holy Radiance.
His Water Mirror Refraction, Flying Skill, and Critical Hit Runes, all stuck at Lv4, were now replenished with the necessary Light Element Essence.
Yan Ruoruo sat beside him, her posture upright and graceful. Her long legs were pressed together and angled slightly to the side. One hand rested lightly on her knee, while the other held a flyer for the Qixia Night Market.
"Okay, I’ll go with you tonight."
Her gaze, previously lowered, shifted to the man beside her.
Su Chen had just proposed that they head to the Qixia Night Market after dinner.
It was the first night market event organized by the Qixia District Creative Park and was backed by official authorities. The quality of the vendors aside, if the publicity was good enough, even attracting just a quarter of the powerhouses from the city’s east side would be enough to create a high-quality circulation of Rune Essence.
Then, Su Chen could trade for all the Runes he needed at once.
Considering an eastern Forward Base had just been established in front of the creative park, staffed by a large number of official combat and defense personnel, the probability of this was very high.
Compared to running around aimlessly like a headless chicken, the night market was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity.
"Pick one."
Su Chen, having finished his own tasks, didn’t forget to compensate her. In addition to a Lv4 Insight Rune that he floated over to her hand, two other unknown Spirit Element Runes with different effects emerged.
"Of course, if you want the Lv4 Spiritual Detection, I can give you that directly." He had two more Lv4 Spirit Element Runes in his bag.
Just as Yan Ruoruo had a crystal-clear understanding of his entire build and class Authority, Su Chen had also fought alongside her twice and was able to figure out a few things about her.
When she completed her class change, he had sensed the Spiritual Pressure emanating from her Magic Longbow and realized her hidden Bow Element class was also related to Spiritual Energy.
Moreover, he had noticed long ago that her quiver only held an old Recurved Bow. The azure Magic Longbow, engraved with profound and intricate runes, was nowhere to be seen. That meant only one possibility: she could Soul Bind the longbow and store it in her Sea of Consciousness.
The principle was more or less the same.
They both knew the other’s capabilities, so everything was left unsaid.
Su Chen didn’t probe into her privacy.
"I’ll take this one."
Yan Ruoruo wasn’t one for false modesty. She picked one and essentially opened her mystery box on the spot.
"Mind Transmission."
Her eyes suddenly closed, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
When she opened them again, an invisible ripple spread across her pupils.
Yan Ruoruo explained the Rune’s effect: she could project Psychic Energy to teleport over long distances and also establish mental communication with others, up to a maximum distance of 120 meters.
Teleportation plus communication—a decent Rune Ability.
Ignoring any buffs from her class Authority, it held a clear generational advantage over the Dark Element’s Shadow Jumping Skill at the same level.
"Not bad."
Su Chen used the break to briefly update her on the new developments concerning the Bloodthirsty Fungus.
"I haven’t run into any over on my end."
Yan Ruoruo described the situation in the large lake area to the north. The lake was as vast as an ocean, and its water was surprisingly clear. Transparent fish could be seen swimming within, as if the entire body of water had been purified by Light Element energy.
As a vital water source, the lake was frequented by giant animals like the Bright Giant Rhinoceros.
Yuan Haotian had previously mentioned to Su Chen that the area was teeming with Light Element monsters.
All this information combined suggested that the Light Element ecosystem here had formed an invisible barrier, its pervasive purifying energy a natural counter to the Bloodthirsty Fungus.

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